Maple Leaf (Lehigh Valley Railroad train)

This article is about the Lehigh Valley Railroad train. For other trains, see Maple leaf (disambiguation) § Transport.

Maple LeafOverview

Service type| Inter-city rail
Status| Discontinued
Locale| Northeastern United States/Ontario
Predecessor| Toronto
First service| 1937
Last service| February 3, 1961
Former operator(s)| Lehigh Valley Railroad
Canadian National Railway
Reading Railroad
Route
Termini| New York City and Philadelphia
Toronto
Distance travelled| 548 miles (882 km) (New York City-Toronto)
Average journey time| 13 hours, 50 minutes, northbound
13 hours, 25 minutes, southbound (1953)
Service frequency| Daily
Train number(s)| Northbound: 7
Southbound: 8
On-board services
Seating arrangements| Coach
Sleeping arrangements| Open-sections, double bedrooms and drawing room
Catering facilities| Dining car (New York City-Lehighton, Pennsylvania)
Observation facilities| Cafe-lounge (New York City-Lehighton); cafe-parlor car (Niagara Falls, ON-Toronto)
Technical
Track gauge| 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
| Route map

Legend

|  |  |

|  | Toronto

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|
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|

|  |

|  | Niagara Falls |

|  |

|  |

| Whirlpool Bridge

over Niagara River

| CAN

USA
border

|  |

|  | Niagara Falls |

|  |

|  | Buffalo
|  |

|  | Batavia
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|  | Geneva
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|  | Ithaca
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|  |  |

| NY

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|  | Sayre
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|  | Wilkes-Barre
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|  | Lehighton
|  |

|  | Allentown
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|  | Bethlehem
|  |

|  |

| Reading Railroad

to Philadelphia

|  |

|  | Easton
|  |

|  |  |

| PA

|  |

|  | Flemington Junction
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|  | South Plainfield
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|  | Newark
|  |

|  |  |

| NJ

|  |

|  | New York City
|  |  |  |  |  |
Source[1]

This diagram:

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The Maple Leaf was an international night train between New York City and Toronto, operated by the Lehigh Valley Railroad in coordination with the Canadian National Railway.[2] It ran from Penn Station in New York City and concluded at Toronto's Union Station. The train's service began in 1937; a predecessor Lehigh Valley Railroad train, the Toronto, traveled the same route. The Maple Leaf and the John Wilkes were the last named passenger trains operated by the Lehigh Valley Railroad.[3]

The route was double tracked from New York City to Niagara Falls and the Finger Lakes Region. In contrast to the Lehigh Valley Railroad's Black Diamond and Star, it bypassed Ithaca on the northbound trip. However, in the final years of the Maple Leaf, after the discontinuance of those trains, it did stop in Ithaca. The train had an alternate section operated with the Reading Railroad, which originated at Reading Terminal in Philadelphia and linked with the main part of the Maple Leaf train in Bethlehem.[2]

The train had its final departure on February 3, 1961.[4][3]

In 1981, Amtrak and Via Rail reintroduced the Maple Leaf name for their New York–Toronto train, the first direct rail service between these cities since 1967. The modern Maple Leaf uses the Empire Corridor through New York state rather than the historic route of the Lehigh Valley train, neither entering New Jersey nor Pennsylvania.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Lehigh Valley Railroad Timetable". Lehigh Valley Railroad . 25 October 1959. p. 144. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
2. ^ a b Timetable. Lehigh Valley Railroad. September 27, 1953. Tables 1, 2
3. ^ a b "Last of the Railroad - Era Passes Tonight as Lehigh Ends Service". Geneva Times. February 3, 1961. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008.
4. ^ "Direct Link To N.Y. CN Link To Be Cut". St. Catherines Standard. February 2, 1961.

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Named trains of the Canadian National Railway

* Ambassador
* Continental Limited
* Green Mountain Flyer
* Gull
* Inter-City Limited
* International Limited
* La Salle
* Maple Leaf (GTW)
* Maple Leaf (LV)
* Maritime Express
* Montrealer
* Mount Royal
* New Englander
* Northland
* Ocean Limited
* Owl
* Rapido
* Scotian
* Super Continental

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Named trains of the Lehigh Valley Railroad

* Asa Packer
* Black Diamond
* John Wilkes
* Lehigh Limited
* Maple Leaf
* Star
* Toronto
* Wilkes-Barre

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Named trains of the Reading Company

* Black Diamond
* Crusader
* Interstate Express
* John Wilkes
* King Coal
* Main Line
* Maple Leaf
* North Penn
* Queen of the Valley
* Schuylkill
* Scranton Flyer
* Wall Street

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